Posts Tagged ‘manicure’

I’ve been wanting to try out washi tape nails for a while now and with such amazing patterns and colours I just couldn’t resist any longer. It’s a little finicky at first, but once you get a system going it’s pretty quick and easy! To do your own, all you need is:

- A roll of your favourite washi tape
- A pair of scissors (the smaller the better)
- Nail clippers
- Something to flatten out the creases from the washi (I used a cuticle tool)
- Clear top coat
-Base polish (optional)

Here’s how I did it!

Before I started, I did a quick coat of white nail polish just to make the tape pop a bit more, but it isn’t totally necessary. I then cut the washi tape into strips long enough to cover my entire nail and have a bit extra.

I then flattened out the washi tape onto my nail, and used the cuticle tool to create an outline around it. I’ve also seen a pencil used to trace around the nail, but decided against it as it marks up the tape.

Next I took the tape off my nail and used scissors to cut around the outline/crease I had made. I reapplied it to my nail and did my best to flatten out all the creases. I left the length of the tape long and then used nail clippers to shape the tape to my nail.

…Repeat times ten, topcoat, and you’ve got a super easy and fun manicure! I think in total the whole process only took about 25 minutes. Not to mention how much more cost effective this is in comparison to nail strips, or even polish!

And just as a teaser…here is part of our washi tape selection here at the store.

I wanted to add a little bit more chiyogami to my daily life, so I chiyogami-ed my nails. To do so I used a pair of scissors, nail file, nail clippers, nail glue, clear polish to create this look along with the paper.

Using tracing paper (you could use any kind of thinner paper), I traced and cut out templates for each of my nails. I numbered them, left hand and right hand, so I wouldn’t get confused later when cutting out the chiyogami pieces.

After cutting out each piece I then used the nail glue to attach them to my nails. I put a small dot of glue on the middle of my nail and pressed the chiyo onto it letting it set for a minute. I then put a little bit more glue around the sides to adhere them down. If you’re trying this, be careful not to glue your fingers together or to the paper. I found that using the tip of my nail file to press the paper to the sides of my nail worked best. Make sure to follow the instructions of the glue you purchase for safe application.

Once the glue was fully dried I added a clear top coat to help protect them. I cleaned up the edges by cutting or filing off any excess paper or glue with my nail tools. The colours in the paper darked once adhered and coated on my nails. I really liked the finished product.

I used 445C, a fun green and gold stripe one week, and 619C, a soft floral the following week.